Monday, August 22, 2011

Nature Nuts gets National Recognition

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and Northern Virginia Regional Park Foundation, are working together help get children outside and in nature. The physical and mental health benefits as well as the learning that children are able to do when they spend time in nature is well documents. Just as well documented is the fact that children are spending less time outdoors.

To address this issue the Nature Nuts program has been developed with a goal of facilitating a meaningful nature experience for half a million children over the next five years through the Northern Virginia Regional Park System.

This program just received national recognition in the form of a great article in Park and Recreation Magazine. This is the publication of the National Recreation and Park Association and features the Nature Nuts program on pages 23 and 24 of the newly released August 2011 issue.

Addressing what best selling author Richard Louv called the "Nature Deficit Disorder" is one of the great challenges for organizations involved in managing public lands and engaging the public in the appreciation of nature. Engaging children with nature is the subject of one of the session at the 40th annual Special Park Districts Forum that the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is hosting next month for park officials from all over North America. We will be highlighting the challenges and opportunities of this effort during this session.

With a limited number of days that registration is open for the Special Park District Forum, register soon and join us on September 25-28 as we work on this and other issues.

About Me

I am the Executive Director of NOVA Parks (Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority). Prior to that, I was the President of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust. NOVA Parks is a regional park system made up of three Counties and three Cities in Northern Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, and the Cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church). NVRPA operates 30+ park and owns over 11,000 acres.
My family moved to Fairfax County when I was 1, so I am close to a native. I have a bachlors degree from St. Andrews University in N.C. and a masters degree from George Mason University. I also have a Certificate of Professional Development from the Wharton School of Business at UPA. I served on the Board of Regents for the NRPA Revenue Development and Management School, and am on the Board of Directors for Visit Fairfax.I am an Executive in Residense at George Mason University for their Recreation Management Program.
I also published two books one on leadership and the Civil War called "Lead Like a General." The other book is "High Performance Agencies: The Entrepreneurial Model for Public Park, Recreation and Tourism Organizations."